


The Origin Of Sodapop's Bodyguards

by Blitz_Unite



Series: Outsiders OS (writing exercises) [1]
Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Harassment, Johnny Cade Lives, Multi, Self-Indulgent, Writing Exercise, please dont take this seriously, wioejdosicm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:02:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29714832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blitz_Unite/pseuds/Blitz_Unite
Summary: Self explanatory---This may be the cringiest thing I've ever written but it was fun so it's okay :)
Relationships: Darrel Curtis & Ponyboy Curtis & Sodapop Curtis, Sodapop Curtis & Dallas Winston, Sodapop Curtis & Steve Randle, Sodapop Curtis & Two-Bit Mathews
Series: Outsiders OS (writing exercises) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2183808
Kudos: 10





	The Origin Of Sodapop's Bodyguards

Steve noticed it first. One of Soda’s flannels rode up, and there they were. Small bruises littering his arm. He frowned, zeroing in on it but then Sodapop moved again and the view vanished. 

“You been in a fight?” Ponyboy questioned, his hands clutching some old novel they’d found lying lonely in the DX. A day passed and no one had picked it up, so Sodapop brought it home for his brother. A pure soul. Steve’s first idea has been to either light it on fire or sell it. “Really, Soda?” The teen in question shook his head, nose scrunching up. 

“Where’d you get that idea in your head from?” he said, cheerfully knocking Pony’s head. The younger pointed to his forearm. 

“Bruises,”

Sodapop pushed up his sleeve, eyebrows jumping. Steve’s eyes narrowed as he tried to get a better look, but the other was already hiding it. “Huh, really don’t know. First time I’m seeing them,”

And that was that. 

\---

Then it happened again, only a week after. Darry saw first, frowning and walking closer to Soda. “Hey, what happened?” he asked softly. Sodapop followed his gaze and shrugged. But this time Dally was here, and there was no brushing past it. 

The slightly older teen grabs Soda’s arm, tugging the sleeve up even more. “Human shaped,” he announced. Then without waiting for a reply, he was looking at the other arm, where more sets of bruises tainted Soda’s skin. “Who the hell did this?” Dally growled. Sodapop helplessly tried to flail out of Dally’s grip, but to no avail. Instead, a placating smile took over his face. 

“I don’t know, they just showed up,” yelped Soda. 

Dally leaned in closer. “Bullshit.”

“Alright,” Darry intervened, putting some space between the two. “Calm down, and you,” he pointed to Soda. “Whaddya mean you don’t know,”

“It’s probably just some people grabbed me a little too tough down at the DX,” Soda said, pulling away from the two. 

“What people?” Dally exclaimed. 

“I don’t know, just people,” Sodapop replied, his shoulders hunched, eyes flitting between the other two. 

“You mean playfighting?” Darry asked, a hand still on Dally’s chest to stop the latter from jumping Sodapop. “Did Steve or Two-” The teen violently shook his head, hands flying and “no”s bursting from his mouth. The older Curtis had suspected as much, Steve and Soda may get rough but never actually slapped around enough to leave a mark.

“Sometimes some girls and boys get a little touchy, honestly we get a whole lot of drunk people down there,” Soda explained. 

“Touchy,” echoed Darry. 

“Don’t even hurt, I didn’t even know these were here,” said Soda, plastering another smile on his face, more confident this time. He turned to flounce away, before pausing and patting both of the others on the shoulder then sprinting before Dally could grab him. 

“The hell are people getting touchy for?” Dally grumbled. Sodapop’s shouts to Ponyboy drifted in, filling the uneasy silence. 

Darry sighed, crossing his arms. “I don’t know,”

\---

“What’s eating you?” Sodapop grinned at Two-Bit, the latter missing his usual goofy smile. Two-Bit only stared at him. The middle Curtis brother’s smile faltered, his volume dropping. “Hey, what happened?”

“I was at the DX a bit earlier to drop something off for Steve,” said Two-Bit. 

“Hmm, and?” prodded Soda. It wasn’t unusual at all, yeah Two-Bit came in late most of the time but he’d been there during shifts plenty. Mostly to give updates for Steve, who had been recently promoted and spent a whole lot of time in a different sector than Sodapop when their manager was actually looking.

“Why’re they so rough with you?”

“Huh?”

“You heard me, Soda. The customers, they were manhandling ya,” Two-Bit crossed his arms, looking almost like a shorter Darry for a second. The sudden seriousness in his eyes threw Sodapop off, he blinked. 

“Huh?” he eloquently responded. 

“The clients, those half-Socs,” Two-Bit said, standing up. Sodapop almost took a step backwards, confused by the aggressiveness of the other.

“They’re just,” he floundered for what to say, anxiety inching up his spine. “Them,”

“Fight back!”

“It’s not a fight, Two-Bit. Plus, you know our manager would get me fired for it. So what if they’re a little pushy? My job’s to please ‘em,” the last few words didn’t sound right on his tongue, too jarring. “And anyway, it’s nothing I can’t handle and you know it,”

“Sodapop,” Two-Bit frowned. Soda hadn’t realized how tensed he’d gotten, he forced his muscles to relax, apologies already spilling from his lips. “Hey, listen. Do they make you uncomfortable?” Soda hesitated, but his heart was on his sleeve and Two didn’t need an answer to know what his true feelings were. The usual mirth littering Two-Bit’s movements were replaced with barely restrained stiffness. “Damn those jerks,” he muttered. “Look here, next time they give you trouble, call me or Steve, okay?”

“It’s not that big of a-”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be hanging around for a while too, okay?”

“You got your own things to do,” Sodapop looked at the ground. “Really, I’m fine. This is the life of a good looking lad,” he flashed a smile, but Two-Bit only responded to his attempt at a joke with a grunt. “I’m used to it! And who says the attention from the ladies ain’t good?” Then waggling his eyebrows, he scrambled before the other could catch the nervousness in his shoulders. 

\---

Jack gave a wide smile at the side of Sodapop, too much teeth gleaming in the sunlight. The middle Curtis brother wanted to sigh, to roll his eyes, do whatever he could to get Jack, the half-Soc off his back. But he’d snapped at two girls and a guy before, and the negative emotions warring on their face had twisted his heart so much. He just couldn’t cause someone else’s grief again. Not when he was already doing that to Darry, who had to take care of him, and Two-Bit, who was now worried about him. Ponyboy too had thrown him a concerned look. That was three people too many. 

He fixed the pump to Jack’s car, who leaned against it lazily, that smile still on his face. “Ya know, Tammy was around yesterday or so, said you’d taken off that flannel for a while. Still really hot out today, how come you’re wearing it?”

“Tomorrow’s always a different day,” said Sodapop cheerfully, it was a relaxed conversation. He didn’t like those socs either but if he brought that bias into work, he’d get fired. And anyway, Jack didn’t seem too bad. Bit strange he was choosing this topic but it wasn’t anything like the ‘hot cheeks’ Soda often got from Tammy, and her brother too. Weird family they were. “If today was the exact same as tomorrow, it’d be real boring, huh?”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, looking more amused than anything. Then he leaned in, Sodapop took a step back, Jack’s hand closed around his forearm, pulling him forward. Now Soda could fight, sure he may not be as strong as Darry or Steve, but he had the technique down. The same technique he couldn’t use right now. Losing his job would mean making Darry even more stressed. So no fighting. Without that, his lanky body couldn’t hold off much against Jack practically pressing the two of them together. Still, Sodapop tried to peel off Jack’s fingers while stumbling enough as stepped back that if Jack tried to keep them close, he would fall. The half-Soc’s fingers tightened. “C’mon, we got some time before that car’s filled,”

“Hey Sodapop!” a familiar voice yelled. Both Sodapop and Jack turned, the latter still gripping the former. Two-Bit strode up to them, Johnny trailing after him. He still looked a little banged up, it had been two years since he’d killed a Soc and got stuck in that fire, but the recovery was slow, mentally, physically it was barely faster. 

Jack grumbled something beneath his breath, glaring at the interruption. Two-Bit gave a pointed look at the car, sneering. “Me thinks it’s finished,”

“Wait in line if you got a car,” said Jack, he tugged Sodapop again, who’s planted feet couldn’t stop him from stumbling towards the guy. Sodapop glared, trying to pull his arm free, but it seemed Jack had anticipated that and threw an irritated look at him. “We were getting along so well,”

“Back off, Soc,” Two-Bit’s voice was low, devoid of the usual fun that accompanied it when he taunted Socs at a ramble. 

“Stay out of it, Greaser,” hissed Jack right back.

Their staring contest persisted, till Johnny stepped forward, something gleaming from the inside of his jacket. Jack hadn’t missed it, his eyes going wide. He huffed, murmured some curses, squeezed Soda’s forearm a little too tight and got in his car.

“Tha-”

Johnny was already examining Sodapop’s skin, right where the finger shaped bruises were. 

\---

“Tell me his name,” Dally growled. Darry paced the living room. Ponyboy was at the theatres with Johnny, who had shaken his head disappointed after Two-Bit had told him the situation. That had hurt more than Sodapop expected. 

“Two-Bit exaggerates, its in his nature,” Sodapop smiled. But they were eyeing the bruises on his arms. Darry paused. Turned towards his brother. And hugged him. 

Automatically, Sodapop melted into the affection. It was in his bones, each hug, each pat on the back, evoked that same high amount of dopamine in him. Ponyboy called him ‘high off life’, but really, he was high off love, validation. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it before people like Jack and Tammy had tainted his perception of it. In fact, he had been unconsciously drifting away physically from others. When was the last time he and Steve had ran around together, or he’d ruffled Ponyboy’s hair?

“You missed me?” he joked. 

“Gonna pop some waterworks too?” Dally said sarcastically. “Stop acting like a wuss, Soda.”

“I can’t fight unless I wanna get fired! And sometimes I meet people I actually like!”

“Just be careful,” Darry said before they could continue their argument. 

Sodapop winked. “Always,”

\---

And so it was. Now it felt like he had personal bodyguards, at his own job. When Sodapop actually felt like picking up girls, he had to announce it wide and clear to them. A month of Steve watching his every step, Dally growling at anyone who stepped too close, Two-Bit aggressively standing right next to him, Johnny sending disapproving stares, Ponyboy pointing out fishy lookin’ people and Darry baring his teeth and showing off his arms. Sodapop had enough and warned ‘em all to back off. 

But it was to no avail. The next time Jack came back, he was more cautious, which was nice because now there were no lasting marks. Then Sodapop realized it was because it was glaring from the background. But that wasn’t all of it. Jack made a rushed exit. And that was because Dally had a pocket knife out from ten feet away, the gleam of it unmistakable as he held it up with a smile that sent shivers down Soda’s arms. “I feel like I have to start paying you now,” he grinned when Dally’s expression softened, his teeth making an appearance in his smile. It was hard to stay mad when they were coming from a good place in their heart. 

Still he decided that night, he would tell them. And he did. And it still had no effect. Soda smiled, watching them rough around and yell at each other, eyes glittering with joy, maybe it would go away with time. Even if it didn’t, they were his family. They protected him, he protected them. Forever and always.


End file.
